ReadSpeaker “proReader”; the next generation accessibility tool to make websites speak has arrived. We have for many years been asked to add the function of highlighting the text that is currently read. There was no simple way to do that on a server-side solution. There are always options to create programs that the users could install and run, but that wouldn’t really be a service that the website offered would it? After over one year of focused R & D we finally came up with a solution, and after a couple of months of user group testing and studies, we are now ready to launch: The proReader!ProReader is a packaged solution for medium size customers that want to make the text content on their websites as accessible as possible for people with special needs.

Customize the reading experience

The unique thing with proReader is that it is very easy to use for the ones that just want to listen, but it also gives many options to the user when it comes to customizing the reading experience. The user can choose to have the reading in different speeds, choose if the text should be highlighted dynamically as it is being read (per word/sentence or both), choose font, text size, colors and more…

Reading to everyone

As always when we design a ReadSpeaker service, we have made sure that the speech function is available for everyone and everywhere. This is regardless of what web browser is used and what client side scripting the user has available in his browser. All thanks to the server side technology. To use the basic functionality of proReader, all that is required is a (any) web browser running on a device that can play back mp3 audio. Including many mobile devices (however most mobile devices will only support the playback by selecting the “download mp” link).Creating a user interface that is rich with features and at the same time is easy to use requires a lot of research and user group testing. The initial responses during our beta testing period have been good, and we are already beginning to collect suggestions and wishes for the next version.

Intelligence of the masses

With proReader, which shows its user interface in a new window, the user has the possibility of sending feedback and report words that are not pronounced correctly so that our computer linguists can further improve the quality of the reading. Thanks to the ReadSpeaker general pronunciation dictionaries which are shared by all customers, everybody will benefit from the new pronunciation fixes. With the support of the mass intelligence out there, linguists can focus more on solving issues rather than search from them. The winners in the end are the users, which can experience a better sounding reading.